Study on Urban Spatial Characteristic Based on Historic Map Digital Analysis— —Taking Changsha as an Example

Abstract. Historical maps consist an important source of information and a research tool for several researchers of various scientific fields, especially the humanities (Michev 2016), who are working on the geographic analysis of the environment. For them, the digital comparative analysis of historical and modern maps offers a variety of benefits. It expands the scope of their research, providing them the opportunity to study the geometric and thematic properties of the maps, or they use maps constructed on different periods to detect and determine changes in the physical environment, border changes, or changes on the toponyms (e.g. Boutoura & Livieratos, 1986, 2006; Livieratos, 2006; Tsorlini et al, 2010). This is really essential, especially when these changes are only apparent through maps and no other written source exists (Tsorlini et al, 2017).Historical maps in different forms, independent or embedded in books, atlases or map series, are located in map collections mainly in libraries worldwide. These cartographic materials abroad are stored in specific departments in the libraries, where specialized personnel deals with them and is responsible for their management, preservation and demonstration to the public. This is not the case for our country, since many historical maps and other related cartographic material in libraries, remain almost unknown to researchers and generally to the public. Sometimes, there are difficulties even to detect historical maps in the library’s system, because they are documented and recorded following specific rules related mainly to traditional descriptive methods applied in book-keeping and book-archiving (Boutoura, 2014). As a consequence, there are important maps, who haven’t been studied or analysed until today and their important value has not been exploited yet in library’s environment.One of the most important libraries in Greece and the second in size after the National Library, is the Library and Information Centre of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH Library). The cartographic material located in AUTH Library has not been documented and studied properly in all its size and the cartographic wealth has not been exploited in Library’s environment, until its cooperation with the Laboratory of Cartography and Geographical Analysis which was realized recently. In the frame of this cooperation, a research project was developed focusing on one of the AUTH Library’s collections, the very important Ioannis Tricoglou Library, with the aim to collect, document and organize the cartographic material found in this collection, in an information system, which will give the opportunity to researchers and to the general public to search for maps, independent or embedded in books, and to find relevant information for them through an easy and user-friendly digital environment. In this way, historical maps and other cartographic material located in Library’s collections will be demonstrated to researchers and the general public, presenting and promoting also the cartographic wealth of the library.The main stages of this project are: a) the collection and documentation of the maps found in Ioannis Tricoglou Library, b)the proper transformation of these data to provide information through a database, c) the connection of the maps in thedatabase with other related textual and pictorial sources, in order to enrich the information provided for the maps not onlyfor researchers and students, but also for the library’s staff, simplifying in this way the searching procedure and finally(Tsorlini et al, 2018a), and finally, d) the development of a user-friendly digital environment, which will provide accessto historical maps and relevant cartographic material located in Ioannis Tricoglou Library. Emphasis on this project isgiven to the maps which were found inside the books, since they were not recorded and documented correctly, they werenot digitized in the proper way, thus it was impossible to detect them through the existing library’s system (Tsorlini et al,2018b).In this paper, we will analyse shortly the main stages of the project and we will discuss the problems appeared during the whole procedure. Moreover, we will present its results, which can assist to the improvement of the library’s searching system and to the demonstration of the unknown cartographic wealth of the library to the academic community and general public.

The research on the historical production areas of Dao-di herbs is of great value to the quality evaluation, production base and protection for geographic indications of Dao-di herbs. Current studies mostly focused on the sorting of written sources, but neglected the excavation of image records such as historical maps and topographic maps. This paper aims at exploreing the geographical scope and evolution mode of historical production area of the Dao-di herbs by combining the method of historical map labelling with the traditional literature and historical research methods. It can be divided into three steps: production area name extraction, historical map labelling and textual research on the historical production area of Dao-di herbs. This method may provide a better way to show the geographical scope and topographic features of the historical production areas of Dao-di herbs through historical maps labelling, which is essential to further explore the evolution of production areas of Dao-di herbs from ancient times to the present by comparing historical maps of different periods, and may be helpful to discover the reasons for the formation and evolution of historical producing areas of Dao-di herbs from different perspectives such as environment, climate, humanities, economy, policy, etc. In addition, the historical map database can be used for map labelling to help establish the relationship between the dynasties, historical names, and change cha-racteristics of the scope of the historical production areas of Dao-di herbs in the following research.

Silencing of tumor suppressor and tumor-related gene transcription by hypermethylation at promoter CpG motifs is a significant mechanism at work in human tumorgenesis. Various methods have been developed to analyze DNA methylation levels, both across the genome and at specific loci, in order to discover and interrogate disease relevant loci for methylation-based transcriptional control. Methods able to quantitatively measure differences in DNA methylation between normal and cancer cells provide promising sources for biomarker identification and assessment. Here we report on the use of a methylation assay (Zymo Research's OneStep qMethyl™) and digital PCR counting (RainDrop™ dPCR) to enable quantitative measurements of DNA methylation at specific genomic loci using small amounts of non-bisulfite converted DNA. MGMT promoter methylation measurements are used to illustrate the method's robust quantification of small percent methylation changes using low amounts of input DNA. Zymo Research's OneStep qMethyl™ Kit is used for the detection of region-specific DNA methylation via the selective amplification of methylated cytosines after digestion with methylation-sensitive restriction enzymes. RainDance Technologies’ RainDrop™ dPCR system is a highly sensitive tool for precise quantification of nucleic acids using probe-based qPCR reagents. RainDrop offers unique analytical advantages for clinical diagnostics due to its exceptionally high sensitivity for absolute quantification and capability to multiplex assays, using a wide dynamic range of input DNA in a contamination-free and simple workflow. The combination of both technologies enables a novel, fast, and robust method for quantitative methylation analysis of small amounts of DNA. The DNA repair protein O6-methylguanine DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) removes mutagenic alkyl adducts from DNA, and its epigenetic silencing by promoter methylation confers susceptibility to DNA-damaging alkylating agents in glioblastomas, melanomas, and lung cancer cell lines, and is increased in cancers including advanced gastric carcinomas, colorectal tumors, and triple-negative breast cancers. A sensitive, quick, and cost-effective quantitative method for assessing MGMT promoter methylation would greatly enhance the diagnostic potential for this candidate cancer biomarker. Here we show digital quantification of MGMT promoter methylation across the range from 0 to 100%, demonstrating a linear correlation that enables less than 15% methylation changes to be robustly measured using less than 20 nanograms of input DNA. This method provides a sensitive count of region-specific methylation percentages using an easy workflow. Continuing work will make use of RainDrop's unique ability to multiplex assays to enable combining MGMT methylation analysis with additional cancer relevant methylation biomarkers in a single assay. Citation Format: Michael L. Samuels, Ryan Kemp, Frances Long, Jill Petrisko, Lam Nguyen, Manuel Krispin. Quantitative digital PCR analysis of cancer gene promoter methylation using low amounts of input DNA. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 808. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-808

Background Non-respiratory biomarkers for tuberculosis (TB), such as the urinary lipoarabinomannan (LAM) antigen, are crucial for diagnosing TB in at-risk pediatric populations. Currently available urine assays to detect LAM as a diagnostic test for TB have limited sensitivity in pediatric populations. We aimed to evaluate the Ceres TB-Nanotrap as a urine concentration step to augment detection of LAM antigens in urine. Methods Urine specimens were obtained from children 1-18 years of age with presumptive TB (cases) and non-TB controls from outpatient clinics in Karachi, Pakistan. An Alere lateral flow (LF)-LAM test was performed before and after concentrating urine with magnetic TB-Nanotrap particles. Band intensity was measured via visual grading and digital quantification (using Image-J software) and performance characteristics were calculated for unconcentrated and concentrated urine. Results Urine LAM sensitivity by visual grading was 4.5% (95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 0.3 – 18.5) pre-concentration and 50.0% (95% CI 30.0 – 70.0) post-concentration. Sensitivity by digital quantification was 0.0% (95% CI 0.0 – 15.4) pre-concentration and 63.9% (95% CI 42.8 – 81.4) post-concentration. Specificity was high with both methods (visual grading 90.0% [62.8 – 99.4] pre-concentration, 90.0% [62.8 – 99.4] post-concentration; digital analysis 80.0% [44.4 – 97.5], 90.0% [62.8 – 99.4] respectively). For specimens from TB cases, digital analysis showed an increase in median LF-LAM band intensity from 0.0 arbitrary units (AU) (IQR 0.00 – 32.5) in unconcentrated samples to 98.4 AU (IQR 34.9 – 212.2) in concentrated samples. Conclusion Concentration with TB-Nanotrap greatly increased sensitivity of urine LAM detection without change in specificity. Digital quantitative analysis further increased sensitivity. Incorporating this concentration step into urine LAM may improve diagnostic accuracy of the test. Use of digital quantitative analysis of urine LAM may increase sensitivity and allow for more precise quantification of urine LAM. Future work should explore the use of TB-Nanotrap concentration in other populations that are challenging to diagnose. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures

Cognitive map method and space syntax theory are both concerned with the study field of environmental cognition and behavior. The theory basis of the two methodologies derived from environmental psychology gives an inspiring opportunity to establish an integrated research framework by Kim and Penn from 2001 to 2004. According to the standpoints presented by Kim, an investigation and survey in this paper was performed to examine the degree of correlation between cognitive map method and space syntax theory. As far as cognitive map method was concerned, 52 college students were chosen to take part in the cognitive test in Xiao Ximen historical conservation area, a historical city core in Changsha. After analyzing the cognitive maps drawn by students and digitizing their sketch maps through syntactic measures based on GIS technique, the data platform of comparative study was created followed by measuring the syntactic values of the real map. With comparing these data derived from the two methodologies, findings suggest that the syntactic configuration in the real environments and the configuration of cognitive map are closely related.

The aim of the study was to determine values of a quantitative morphometry analysis of nuclear characteristics and argyrophilic nucleolar organizer regions (AgNORs) in differential cytodiagnosis of benign, atypically proliferating (borderline) and malignant serous ovarian tumours. Cytological imprints of benign (n = 20), borderline (n = 19) and malignant (n = 20) ovarian serous tumours were analysed. A computerized, digital analysis was used to determine morphometric nuclear features, the number and characteristics of single AgNORs, cluster AgNORs, total AgNOR and AgNOR area/nucleus (relative area) ratio. According to their size AgNORs were classified in three categories. A one-way variance analysis and post hoc test (Scheffé) were used for statistical analysis. The morphometric nuclear analysis showed that benign, borderline and malignant serous ovarian tumours are statistically different (P < 0.001) according to the area and outline, the values being highest in malignant tumours and lowest in the borderline group. Digital analysis of AgNORs in benign, borderline and malignant groups showed that the total AgNOR number increases with progression of the lesion (meaning tumour malignancy) significantly (P < 0.001) between benign and malignant as well as between borderline and malignant serous ovarian tumours (P < 0.001). The progression of the lesion malignancy was accompanied by a significant (P < 0.001) progressive increase of the total and relative AgNOR area per nucleus. The AgNOR size increases from benign to malignant tumours and a statistically significant difference (P < 0.001) was observed in all three groups regarding small and large AgNORs. Combining different markers of morphometric nuclear characteristics and AgNOR values could improve differential cytodiagnosis of benign, borderline and malignant serous ovarian tumours.

Despite the abundant research on economic development, corruption and political instability, little research has attempted to examine whether there is a causal relationship among them. This paper examines the causal relationship among corruption, political instability and economic development in the ECOWAS using the Granger causality test within a multivariate cointegration and error-correction framework for the 1996-2012 period. The findings indicate that political instability Granger-causes economic development in the short term, while political instability and economic development Granger-cause corruption in the long term. In addition, we employed the forecast error variance decomposition and impulse response function analyses to investigate the dynamic interaction between the variables. The results demonstrate positive unidirectional Granger causality from political instability to economic development in the short term and positive unidirectional Granger causality from political instability and economic development to corruption in the long term in ECOWAS countries. Thus, ECOWAS governments should employ policies to promote political stability in the region.

Safety has become the bottom line and fundamental goal of urban renewal with the accelerated urbanization process. Building a safe and stable urban residential environment is a meaningful way to improve cities’ “social-ecological” resilience. Based on the theory of environmental crime prevention and space syntax, taking Tiexinli old residential area in Qinhuangdao City as the research object, using Depth map software to quantitatively analyze the integration degree, synergy degree, connectivity degree, depth value, visual clustering coefficient, and choice value of the residential space, the results show that the accessibility of the spatial system of the old residential area is differentiated. The accessibility of the by-pass road is the lowest and lacks activity support. The spatial layout of the residential area is single and concurrent, and the entrances, exits, and the subsidiary road fail to play a good role in ” access control. ” The environment and landscape of green space between houses and negative space in the residential area are poorly maintained, and the visibility effect is limited. Therefore, the renovation of the old residential area should focus on optimizing the road system, increasing the monitoring of the activities of the people, and enriching the activities of the public space. This research contributes to addressing potential crime issues in urban renewal. It offers feasible and forward-looking approaches to crime prevention and control in the redevelopment of old residential areas in Asian countries. Additionally, this method can be applied in the planning and design of new residential areas to identify and rectify potential crime risks within design schemes, ensuring the safety and living quality of residential communities.

What are the connections between social and political conditions and economic growth? This paper explores the uses and misuses of statistical analysis of cross-national data in addressing this question. It shows that social, political and economic indicators are linked by “webs of association”. Such webs of association suggest the possibility of distinct groupings of social indicators with differentiated impacts on economic growth. But such correlations also make it difficult to disentangle causal relationships, especially when theorizing is weak, data are badly behaved, and the number of observations is small. Although under such conditions statistical techniques can help preclude premature generalizations, they are easily overinterpreted. Nonetheless, data analysis can help identify countries that seem exceptions to the general patterns, where careful case studies may be especially valuable.

Quantitative digital microscopy and analysis of fluorescence gels are examples of applications where images are acquired, usually with a video camera and frame grabber, for further processing and analysis. The use of a standard video camera and frame grabber creates problems in the subsequent data analysis, due to the nonlinear relation between the camera output and the optical input, and due to pixel jitter. In addition, the data are degraded by conversion to a standard video format followed by sampling at a rate determined by the frame grabber's image memory. In this work, an image processing workstation is described which uses a low cost ($850) 8-bit digital CCD camera in place of the video camera/frame grabber combination. The system has excellent linearity and high dynamic range. Proper setup and calibration of this system is essential, and procedures which were developed for this purpose are described. The results which were obtained are compared to those of a standard video camera. The tradeoffs involved in the use of this low cost system are discussed, and examples of data obtained with the system are presented. Although this system cannot replace a 12-bit or 16-bit digital camera in all applications, it can do so in many applications, at a price that makes widespread use of image quantitation systems practical.© (1995) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Tracking the history of urban expansion in Guangzhou (China) during 1665–2017: Evidence from historical maps and remote sensing images

As an inland city, the spatial form of Changsha has undergone its development for more than two thousand years. Extremely stable development of socio-economical culture made little influence on the form evolution of urban center in Feudal Age. However, from 1904 to 1949, frequent and obvious changes on city’s space configuration appeared along with the socio-economical revolution by reason of opening the port, and the characteristic of spatial replacement of downtown was also especially obvious. Therefore, changes of spatial configuration, as a reflection of free commercial economy after opening port, were studied in this paper to illustrator the self-organizing process of the city space evolution. With respect of studying method, space syntax theory was used to analyze and model the process of spatial organization rather than only using thus history or humanities perspective. After comparing syntactic measurement with five historical periods, the spatial features of self-organizing morphology present three rules: (a) self-similarity of morphological evolution, (b) synergy and disturbance relations by local-global spatial interaction and (c) city business center consistently located in the high integrated spaces. As a result, these rules of spatial self-organizing could be explained by a socio-physical phenomenon of single center configuration with today’s city expansion.

Reservoir classification research is of great significance for improving the accuracy of oil and gas exploration and development, reducing risks, and enhancing economic benefits. Traditional reservoir classification methods are primarily based on macroscopic geology and core analysis, lacking descriptions of reservoir pore structure characteristics and microscopic geological features, with very limited data dimensions obtained. This study uses sandstone cuttings samples from a well in an offshore sandstone reservoir as an example and employs digital core technology to conduct reservoir classification research. First, high-resolution micro-CT scanning was performed, and the microscopic lithological characteristics of different blocks were observed based on the scanned images. The diagenesis and particle contact relationships were qualitatively analyzed. Next, digital methods were used to quantitatively analyze pore structure characteristic parameters such as porosity, permeability, and connectivity. Then, the qualitative analysis results of the images were combined with the quantitative analysis results of the digital cuttings to form a set of classification evaluation standards for a certain sandstone reservoir in the eastern South China Sea. Finally, based on the characteristic parameters obtained from the digital quantitative analysis of the cuttings and the on-site pressure-flow data, a big data analysis method was used to screen out the reservoir characteristic parameters with high correlation, providing data support for the rapid evaluation of reservoir mobility. The reservoir classification evaluation standards and flow prediction models formed in this study can provide technical support for accurately formulating reservoir development plans in oil fields in the eastern South China Sea and have significant reference value for the fine evaluation of similar reservoirs. In addition, reservoir classification methods based on digital core analysis exhibit efficiency and multidimensionality, which are crucial for well placement selection, wellbore design, stability assessment of well walls during drilling, interpretation of logging data, and accurate prediction of production capacity.

This paper is undertaken to investigate the role of institutional quality in proportion to the economic growth of war-torn countries during the last 20 years. Within this framework, the paper employed three different models to investigate the link that exists between good governance indicators and economic growth. According to the results, the long-run PMG model indicated that political stability and regulatory quality increase war-torn countries’ economic development. Contrarily, it has been demonstrated that the situation of law and corruption in these countries reduces economic growth. Neither the long-term nor short-term estimations from the MG and DFE models showed any noteworthy results. Next, the FMOLS and DOLS revealed that political stability, voice and accountability have a favorable effect on the economic development of these nations. On the other hand, these nations’ regulatory standards had a very detrimental impact on economic growth. Lastly, the fixed-effects model showed that a 1% improvement in these nations’ political stability will result in a 4.5% increase in GDP. This research will aid managers, academics, and policymakers in determining the course of actions needed in their areas of specialization or nations of interest to ensure economic growth and put in place an effective institutional framework through enforced supervision.

The short beam shear performance of GLARE 3A-3/2 laminates with adhesive layers was investigated by combining the short beam test and the digital image correlation technique. The failure behavior was further analyzed based on finite element simulation and micro failure morphology. The results show an 8% and 58% difference in the short beam strength and bending displacement at failure of laminates along two orthogonal directions; The damage behavior of laminates is determined by the bottom unidirectional glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) layers. The two typical failure modes are matrix and fiber fracture in the GFRP layer caused by local bending deformation, and interlaminar delamination between GFRP layers; The distribution of surface strain [Formula: see text] indicates the damage initiation and evolution process. The simulation result of the finite element model established in ABAQUS/Explicit shows consistency with digital image correlation analysis, which provides an effective method to predict the damage behavior of specimens with different ply structures.